The Worth Institute
by TackiestFire
Summary: When having been called by G.U.N to prove their worth, Sonic and co are forced to partake in multiple tests at the Worth Institute to prove their loyalty to the hero side of the fight, but when some tests take it too far, who will Sonic and Shadow choose? Will it be the path of heart, or the path of logic? Only some are brave enough to face a certain path... -Sonadow/Shadonic-


**The Worth Institute**

 **-A Shadonic/Sonadow Fanfiction-**

XxX

Sonic stared at the crisp clean white page in his gloved hand, the words written on it making him feel uneasy. The G.U.N insignia stood out like a menacing demon in blind daylight, the black inked words tainting the once completely white page. Sonic's emerald eyes continued to re-read the words, his ears perked up in uneasiness.

 _Sonic the Hedgehog,_

 _It has come to our attention that you're unusual abilities have been proven to be dangerous to both citizens and the city. In order to maintain your current status as a citizen and hero of Mobius, you are obligated to be sent to the Worth Institute, where you will prove to G.U.N and the citizens that you are not a villain, but a well hearted Mobian. Some citizens are still uneasy of you and your friends' loyalty due to the black alien incident, and since the opinions of the citizen's matter greatly in order to maintain peace, you will be sent into the Worth Institute to prove your worth and loyalty. You will be tested in several ways, so be prepared to face hardship._

 _We will provide you with all which is needed, so only bother to bring enough clothing for a long amount of time. You will be met with your friends, so do not worry about them. See you then._

 _Signed,_

 _Commander of G.U.N_

"Was saving them from Perfect Chaos and The ARK not enough?" Sonic muttered, annoyed that he had to prove his worth once again with the lately ungrateful citizens of the city. Both he and Tails were currently in their living room, the luggage bag half full of clothing. Tails had also gotten the same letter, and was currently packing extra shoes and gloves for both himself and Sonic for their long stay at the Worth Institute. Sonic placed his hands on his waist in obvious annoyance.

"I guess not Sonic, we are heroes after all, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to show the people that we are truly good guys…right?" Tails raised his bright blue eyes to meet Sonic's emerald gaze.

Sonic only sighed in agitation. "I guess…" Sonic responded warily.

Sonic's gaze then perked up, causing Tails to stare in confusion.

"Do you think Shadow got the same letter?!" Sonic asked, curious to what Shadow had to say and if he knew about the subject. Since Shadow worked as an agent for G.U.N for a time, he must know a bit of knowledge about the Worth Institute since he was once an elite G.U.N official.

"He most probably did, I think he is the one G.U.N really wants to test on, he did always seem to be switching sides between good and evil during the black alien invasion, remember?"

"Yeah, but Shadow's good deep down. Do you mind if I go to Shadow's for a bit?" Sonic asked, still holding the official G.U.N paper in his hand. Tails nodded and waved the blue blur off.

"Sure, I need to fix up things in my workshop before we go, knock yourself out, bro."

"Thanks Tails, see ya!" Sonic yelled as he dashed out of the house, his red, golden buckled sneakers flashing in the sunlight. Shadow's home was located deep in the forest near Sonic's own home, which made sense since Shadow was Anti-social and enjoyed his peace and silence. The trees blurred past Sonic as the speed demon ran past the many trees which hid Shadow's well hidden home. After a few minutes, Sonic finally reached his destination; Shadow's medium sized home looming into view. Sonic inwardly grinned. 'Time to ruin his peace.'

Sonic abruptly stopped in front of Shadow's well built white colored home and knocked loudly onto the black door with Shadow's famous insignia painted onto the smooth black wood. A few moments passed before Shadow opened the abused door, his red, annoyed eyes piercing into Sonic.

"Hello, Faker…" Shadow greeted in indifference and slight annoyance.

"Hey Shads!" Sonic responded eagerly, his impatience growing. Shadow raised an eyebrow and rested his gaze onto Sonic's gloved hand, which held the newly sent G.U.N letter. Shadow grimaced, already knowing what the letter was about, and set his red gaze onto Sonic's eager ones.

"That letter in your hand is from G.U.N, am I correct?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah…it-"

"It's about the Worth Institute…isn't it?" Shadow darkly intervened, already knowing the answer. Sonic nodded slowly, his eyes gazing away from the Ultimate Life Form. Sonic gritted his teeth as the awkward silence stretched on. He cursed himself for not thinking this through. Shadow was sensitive toward any subject concerning G.U.N, being that they killed Maria and almost killed the black blur himself when trying to save the world from the black alien invasion.

The silence stretched on for a few more moments, Shadow staring at Sonic's every move while Sonic stared at his golden buckled red white striped shoes, before Shadow moved out of the doorway entrance to let Sonic in. His crimson eyes continued to stare at Sonic expectantly as he crossed his arms over his chest. Sonic raised his head and grinned as he was permitted entry into the home of his angry rival and friend. Shadow stared out into the forest for a few moments more, making sure there was no one, before closing the door shut.

Sonic stared at Shadow's home, having only entered once in his life. Shadow's home was neat; a large bookshelf was placed near his lit fire-place. The kitchen was also neat, all spices and plates in their desired places. Red, black and white colors were all over, being that those were Shadow's signature colors. As Sonic marveled the place, Shadow slowly walked over to his red couch and sat down, proceeding to stare at Sonic. It took Sonic a minute to realize Shadow's gaze was positioned onto him and awkwardly smiled before taking a seat next to the black hedgehog.

"Give me the paper." Shadow motioned with his gloved hand toward the document Sonic was currently holding. Sonic hesitantly handed the G.U.N document over, lightly touching Shadow's own hand before letting go of the paper. His emerald gaze stared at Shadow as the Ultimate Life Form read the paper carefully before sighing and turning over to Sonic.

"I got the same letter, although some of the wording and information were different from yours," Shadow folded the paper and handed it back over to Sonic. "It is the same 'invitation' nonetheless."

"If you don't mind me asking Shadow…" Sonic started hesitantly, careful not to trigger anything of Shadow's past with G.U.N. "But…do you have any information about the Worth Institute?"

Shadow pressed his tan lips into a firm line, cracking his knuckles causing Sonic to cringe slightly.

"Yes, I do know about it…," Shadow fully turned towards Sonic, his red gaze tense as the light from the burning fireplace set his crimson gaze ablaze. "And it's not something you should underestimate…"

"Why? They said all they were going to do was test us…what's so bad about that?" Sonic asked casually. Shadow crossed his right leg over his left, both his hands placed on the couch for support.

"Faker, the tests aren't a bunch of the doctor's useless robots…no…," Shadow gritted his teeth. "These robots are _killers._ They are made to kill in any way, every way. They are programmed to kill at any cost. Some are small, some are big, some are more deadly than others, but they are all _dangerous_."

Sonic stared at Shadow in silence, waiting for him to continue.

"The tests don't just test your fighting technique. Most of the tests do consist of it, but others are varied. Some of these tests test your knowledge, your skills, your abilities, your teamwork. And if you do a wrong move…," Shadow chuckled sinisterly. "Well, let's just say it will be very painful…I should know, I observed some of them while at G.U.N."

"…So…are you going too?" Sonic asked quietly. Shadow nodded and pointed towards his right, where a black luggage bag with his insignia printed don it were placed on the floor near the red couch.

"Whether I want to or not." Shadow simply stated. Shadow then rose to his feet and opened his luggage bag, groaning at seeing it half empty. His ears angled back as he heard Sonic rise to stand behind him.

"Do you need any help packing?" Sonic asked.

"Faker, I know you enjoy helping others as the hero you are, but I don't need your help. Go back to your own problems." Shadow responded.

Sonic lowered his eyelids and began walking toward the stairs, causing Shadow to turn around to stare at the blue blur.

"Sonic, I said no." Shadow seethed, sending an irritated expression at the stubborn blue hedgehog. Sonic only gave the black blur a smirk and ran up toward Shadow's private bedroom, causing Shadow to lightly growl. After a few moments, Sonic came back, holding multiple pairs of gloves and black socks.

"Here you are Shads, and don't worry, I didn't snoop through your stuff." Sonic smirked; Shadow only grunted in response and snatched his belongings from the cocky blue hedgehog, resuming his packing. As Shadow zipped closed his luggage bag, his ears angled back to the sound of his front door slamming shut, a small smirk etching onto his tan muzzle.

"Stupid blue hedgehog…"

XxX

A few hours passed before Sonic and Tails arrived at the institute, both of them heaving their heavy yellow and blue luggage bags. The grey, tall and wide building, which had square rooms coming from each side, some tall, some wide, some small, where guessed to be different testing sections. The place was located on the desolate side of the city; the dark woods behind the institute seemed menacing as its shadows welcomed darkness. Sonic and Tails stood at the entrance, the broad, steel doors welcoming the unlucky subjects.

"Well, here we are…" Sonic stated warily. He was not excited for the experience. Tails raised his baby blue eyes to look at Sonic.

"Don't worry Sonic, we'll be out of here in no time, after all we are heroes, aren't we?" Tails asked.

Sonic kept on staring at the menacing steel doors. "Yeah…but with all the things Shadow has said about G.U.N, I doubt they will just make us destroy a bunch of robots to prove our worth. They will probably test everything about us Tails…" Sonic glanced at Tails, worry etched onto his face.

"Our motives, our sanity, our loyalty, our knowledge, our fears, our reflexes….everything…" Sonic stated, placing his hands onto Tails' shoulders, worry and a protective stare in his emerald eyes. "I don't want them to hurt you."

Tails smiled warmly at his worried big brother. "I'll be fine Sonic, I promise. I think _you_ should be the one worried for your own safety. You _are_ the hero of Mobius, they will probably make your tests harsher than mine." Tails stated.

Sonic blinked for a moment, his emerald stare blank and smirked. "I'll be able to handle anything they throw at me, trust me, I die hard." Sonic kept his smirk as he walked towards the steel doors, placing his hand on the metal handle. He strained his strong firm muscles as he opened the heavy metal door, his eyes staring expectantly at Tails to enter. Tails nodded and smiled, his twin tails disappearing into the building.

Sonic stayed out for a bit longer, his bright emerald eyes staring at the bright blue sky, lush green grass and blooming flowers. His ears swiveled as he heard the joyful chirping of a nearby bird. His cobalt fur soaked the warm sun as the blue blur momentarily closed his eyes, enjoying his last moments of freedom.

His eye lids suddenly opened and revealed emerald eyes as the blue blur woke from his peaceful state, to stare into a burning crimson gaze and aqua/teal eyes.

Rouge smirked as Sonic's surprised emerald gaze stared into the monotone gaze of his rival.

Shadow let go of his black luggage bag and crossed his arms, smirking at his blue rival. "Enjoying your last moments of freedom, Faker?" Shadow asked mockingly.

Sonic sent a glare toward Shadow and motioned his hand toward the inside of the building. "Do _you_ see any real sunlight in there? It will be a long time before I witness or feel any of this again, so I better enjoy it, don't you think?" Sonic asked.

Shadow grimaced and waved his hand dismissively. "Well, your time is up, go in. We're already late."

Sonic sent his gaze toward Rouge, who was enjoying the bickering hedgehogs. He smirked and motioned his hand in a majestic manner, bowing his head as he did so.

"Ladies first." Sonic glanced up mischievously.

Rouge laughed and walked inside, her white luggage bag shifting as she moved, sending an over dramatic 'Thank you' before disappearing inside.

Sonic resumed his original position and crossed his arms, looking into the sky, crimson orbs staring at the blur.

"Shadow…do you think we'll be making it out of here sane….or alive?" Sonic asked, an eerie peaceful tone in his voice, which made Shadow uneasy.

"Knowing you, you will probably drive G.U.N insane and send them into a fit of frustration. Now go in, and stop stalling."

Sonic grinned and made his way inside, his hand holding the door behind him to let Shadow in. His eyes studied the three corridors in front of him, one on his left, right and in front of him, until his gaze rested onto Shadow's midnight black fur which was disappearing into the middle corridor. Sonic quickly caught up with the red striped hedgie, his uneasy vibe visible to the black hedgehog, who observed and kept quiet the entire way.

Sonic's eyes widened as the large main lobby filled his sight, all his friends crowded in the middle of the large, circular lobby, conversing with each other. His eyes dilated at the sight of bright pink quills, his emerald gaze flinching to the sight of Amy conversing with Cream the rabbit.

' _Why is she here…'_ Sonic mentally groaned. His mind then went to another quick thought. _'Wait…why is Cream here? She never did anything huge…'_

A slim skinny podium with a circular end stuck out of the wall of the right. Sonic guessed that was where the commander would appear from in a few moments. Sonic glanced to his left as Shadow grabbed his hand in a swift movement.

"Shadow, what are you doing?!" Sonic questioned, annoyed at being caught unguarded by his dark counterpart.

Shadow sent Sonic an annoyed glare. "You were standing there like an idiot, the commander is about to show up any minute, and show respect, or else he is going to get his revenge. He _is_ the one giving the test after all." Shadow spoke as he dragged Sonic toward the middle of the circular lobby in front of the podium.

Sonic only grimaced in annoyance, about to send a remark when he heard a clearing throat from the podium. All eyes glanced up toward the sound, as the sight of the mismatched eyed commander on the podium filled their sights. The commander stood on the end of the podium, his hands behind him a he stared at the expectant Mobians

"Greetings to all of you," The commander shifted his position as he spoke. "As you all may know, I am the commander of G.U.N., and so you all will refer to me as 'Commander' or 'Sir'."

Sonic grimaced as the commander spoke.

"As stated in the letter, you will all be completing tests to prove your worth and loyalty to the citizens, and to do this, all your tests will be broadcasted on live air, so don't think you will be able to slip by with any tricks…" The commander stayed silent for a few moments more before going on.

"You will all be placed in dorms with a partner, who with whom you will be partnered with in most of the tests. You will have to rely, work with, trust and depend on your partner to get through all these tests, so if you are paired with someone you dislike, it is for a simple reason…you must prove you are able to work with anyone at any cost." The commander sent his cold gaze over all the currently crowded Mobians, his mismatched eyes finally resting on Shadow, who was staring at the currently fidgeting Sonic.

"And so here are the decided partners who with whom you will be stuck with for the remainder of your stay at the Worth Institute…" The commander pulled a small sheet of white paper from a pocked in his light grey pants.

"…Rouge and Knuckles…"

"Will you stop fidgeting so much?!" Shadow growled, irritated at the blue blur's nonstop movement.

"Silver and Blaze…"

Sonic's head snapped straight at the mentioning of the pyrokinetic cat and psychokinetic hedgehog. _'What are Silver and Blaze doing here…?'_

After the brief questioning thought, Sonic then sent a glare toward Shadow.

"I don't like being stared at, under pressure or locked up, I can't help it. And side note, I _don't_ want to be paired up with Amy." Sonic replied hastily, trying to pay attention the chosen pairs, hoping that he would not get paired up with Amy.

"Well stop it, we are going to be locked up here for a long time, probably with someone we dislike, so either _you_ set your body straight or _I_ will by _force_."

"…Amy and Cream…"

Sonic let out a sigh of relief, the grin on his face unmistakable on his peach muzzle. Shadow only rolled his eyes, his red gaze once again set onto the commander.

"…The Chatoix will stay as the Chaotix…"

In the distance Sonic could hear two sets of high fives, Sonic smirking at the fact that Espio refused to partake of the mini celebration.

"…Tails and Scourge…"

"Wait, _what_?!" Sonic remarked, causing a small, but powerful kick to come his way from the irritated Shadow. Sonic sent a glare toward his dark counterpart. Sonic moved his head wildly, looking for his green counterpart, who was nowhere to be found.

Sonic grit his teeth in utter shock, while Shadow only crossed his arms and gave a bored expression.

"And last of all…Shadow and Sonic…"

Sonic quickly set his gaze to the right, staring right into the crimson orbs of the Ultimate Life Form. They stared at each other for a few moments before accepting the fact that they were stuck together for the remainder of their stay, not remarks made.

"With that said and made clear, your tests will begin tomorrow, so I suggest you get your fill at the cafeteria before leaving to your dorms, because I can assure tomorrow will not be pleasurable, good night." And with that, the commander disappeared down the slim podium, leaving the Mobians to choose what to do with their spare time.

XxX

Tails made his way over to the black and blue hedgehogs, who were still staring at each other in acceptance.

After another long moment, Sonic then sent a smirk toward Shadow, who grunted in silent reply to the cocky blue hedgehog. Sonic punched Shadow in the arm playfully, causing Shadow to send a cold glare towards Sonic.

"Oh, cut the act Shadow the Angry Hedgheog. We all know out of all the Mobians in here, you would rather be stuck with me. Do you really rather be stuck with _Amy_ or…better yet… _Charmy_?"

Sonic began to laugh loudly when he heard a silent 'Hell no' from Shadow as the black blur began walking to the cafeteria, Sonic and Tails following closely behind.

XxX

"Hey Sonic, I know you're probably worrying about me being paired with…Scourge, but, I can handle it." Tails spoke as they walked together toward the cafeteria. Sonic shook his head in denial.

"I'm not worried, Tails. I know you can handle whatever they throw at you just fine. Or whatever Scourge implies on you… I'm just hoping I won't make Shadow angry all the time, you know how his temper is-"

"I can hear you, Sonic." Shadow responded back from in front of them, making Sonic curse silently about Shadow's sharper than normal hearing ability.

As they entered, G.U.N soldiers who were positioned at the entrance of the cafeteria gave dorm key cards to Shadow, Sonic and Tails as they passed.

Sonic's mouth began watering when the scent of food wafted against his nose, inviting the hungry blue hedgehog to dig in to the meals. As the three Mobians reached the food buffet, Sonic was tackled by a quick flash of pink fur.

Shadow had made a quick move to move Tails out of the way before being harshly shouldered by the crazy pink hedgehog. Tails slowly raised his baby blue eyes to stare into Shadow's crimson orbs, and gave a small smile of gratitude. Shadow nodded in return, and both Mobians began to set their gaze onto the current hungry, blue hedgehog who was being smothered by pink fur and quills.

"Amy, get off me!" Sonic's muffled voice yelled, annoyed at being denied food. Amy hugged the blue blur for a few more moments before finally letting the hedgehog go.

As soon as Amy let go of him, Sonic raced through the cafeteria, straight to his and Shadow's specified dorm, placing the keycard which he and Shadow had received shortly after being announced partners by G.U.N soldiers who were positioned at the entrance of the cafeteria.

The dorm was like a normal apartment, two large beds on the right and left side of the room, the grey painted walls setting a dim atmosphere to the already dark room. Sonic stumbled through the dark to find the light switch, his gloved hand lightly brushing the switch before flicking the white switch up, the once dark room now enlightened by the sudden burst of light. He threw his abused luggage bag onto his bed and fell on his back onto the surprisingly comfortable mattress.

XxX

Tails stared after Sonic, chuckling at his reaction to Amy's affection. Amy only let out an exasperated sigh.

"Why does he always do that?!" Amy huffed angrily.

Tails only muffled his laugh with the back of his hand as he proceeded toward the cafeteria buffet, only to be stopped by the voice which Sonic slightly despised.

"Well, blue seemed real ticked when you hugged the hell out of him."

Tails glanced back, only to be greeted with the lime green fur and icy blue eyes of Sonic's despised counterpart, Scourge's leather flamed jacket shifted a she walked closer to Tails. Sharp teeth glinted as a smirk formed on his muzzle.

"I guess you and I are partners, huh?" Scourge smiled menacingly.

Tails had his mouth agape, ready to reply, when Shadow suddenly intervened, his body protectively standing in front of Tails.

"Listen here, sorry green excuse of a hedgehog," Shadow's crimson eyes burned into icy blue, melting their cold depths with his fierce gaze. "If you hurt Tails in any way, I am certain Sonic will throw you into a ride of terrible _pain_ , so before you set a damn finger on the kid, I suggest you take a second thought, because if _I_ see you hurt or harass Tails in anyway, I will be _sure_ to tell Sonic so he can _make_ you _beg_ for your pathetic life, or better yet, your pathetic shades and jacket."

Scourge and Shadow had a silent standoff, Tails already gone, deciding his hunger was more important than the bickering hedgehogs.

Scourge then grimaced and shrugged dismissively. "What are you going on about? I don't want to hurt Two Tails here; in fact, my objective is to keep him from harm's way. He is just a kid after all, I'm not a total villain either, if I was, I wouldn't be here right now. So go ahead and tell Sonic that his special little fox is in good hands. And Shadow…"

Scourge glanced back at the dark hedgehog, his mischievous eyes glinting in amusement.

"Calm the hell down for once."

XxX

"Well, at least I'll sleep well…" Sonic spoke, only to be greeted with silence. His peach stomach grumbled in defiance, its muscles contracting in a painful form of complaining. Sonic groaned and smashed his white pillow onto his face.

"Why does Amy have to be everywhere I go…?" Sonic's muffled voice complained in irritation. His thoughts wandered to Shadow, who had completed the act of keeping Tails out of harm's way with his quick reflexes. Sonic smiled to himself, enjoying the smug fact which was that deep down in the black blur's tainted heart, Shadow did care for him and his friends to some extent.

"I wonder what Shadow's eating…" Sonic spoke after his thoughts, not expecting an answer in return. He jumped when he heard a deep voice reply, and a delicious smell hit the roof of his mouth.

"I ate a piece of steak, thank you for asking." Shadow responded, a small smirk etching onto his face when Sonic's hungry gaze stared at the chili dogs, which were placed on a white porcelain plate, on Shadow's right hand. Shadow slowly strode over to the blue blur and handed him the steaming Chili dogs, which Sonic quickly accepted only to soon devour them all in mere minutes.

Shadow took off his heavy rocket powered shoes and settled onto his bed, his back against the grey painted wall, his lean red striped arms against the cool surface of the cold grey wall. His crimson eyes were set on Sonic, who was staring at the empty plate of food

"Thanks for the food, Shads…" Sonic smiled in gratitude.

Shadow grunted in reply, his burning crimson gaze staring at Sonic's side of the room.

"You need to eat if we don't want to die tomorrow, I already know how you fight and act when malnourished…"

"I am not that bad!" Sonic protested, a small amount of blush appearing on his flushed muzzle.

Shadow smirked to himself. "Also, don't worry yourself about Scourge; I gave him a fair warning already for you."

"Than-" 

"Spare your thanks and go to sleep Faker, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Shadow spoke as he settled himself under the blankets.

Sonic got up and switched the lights off, the room now more menacing then before. Sonic smiled to himself at the sight of Shadow's unguarded form, his face calm for once a he went deeper and deeper into the welcoming depths of deep slumber.

Sonic went under his already warm covers, his quills brushing against the warm pillow. His emerald gaze stared at Shadow's peaceful form, the day ahead making him slightly nervous as Shadow's words haunted his mind.

"Goodnight Shads…" Sonic spoke.

A sleepy grunt was his reply.

Sonic finally closed his eyes and let slumber overtake his form, because as the tests progressed, the dangers which await him will be worse than he ever imagined.

XxX

 **Had this idea for a long while, next chapter will be uploaded soon!**


End file.
